Small and big businesses both face similar problems, only on a different scale. Employee development is one factor that all businesses need to consider. Depending on the structure of a business, progression into higher positions or into different department roles usually happens as the business grows. Business owners looking to expand their company with their success, and with expansion, comes more team opportunities. Training people can take its toll, especially with small-scale businesses. What replaces training for these businesses are programs that train team members to keep up and cope with the changing business needs, and updates in technology? Supervisors eventually will be promoted to being managers and of course, new supervisor positions will be open, and so on. How can employees in small-scale businesses learn how to take on these new responsibilities such as being a supervisor for the first time? By entering a mentorship program. Mentorship programs help businesses in equipping employees and making them ready to take on higher positions and more responsibilities. Aside from the normal tasks an employee would have, there would be additional expectations added to their role when moving up in the organization. These required additional skills can be taught, such as time management, reporting, data analysis skills, and so on.

Having a mentorship program can help a business by preparing its employees. Mentorship can also be considered ‘shadowing’, not necessarily for a promotion but in readiness for when the opportunity arises. It is also important that somebody from the business can carry on the tasks needed to be completed by a supervisor or manager when they are on leave. This way, the business can continue to run smoothly. Let us look at the ways a mentorship program could help your business.

1. Cost-effectiveness

Having a mentorship program in your business, as mentioned above, helps your business in preparing your employees in covering more responsibilities and taking on higher positions. This works well, especially in small-scale businesses but can also be a program that big organizations take on. Mentorship or sometimes called ‘shadowing’ is more personal than a training program in a company. This is when another employee guides a colleague who has to take on more responsibilities than their job description. A mentor should be somebody who has mastered the task or is skilled at it and can effectively transfer knowledge effectively. The skill can be learned in a shorter time and progress can be checked by making the mentoree carry out the job with supervision. Once mastery is reached, the mentoree can then take on the role, task, or job in the future.

2. Improved Working Relationship

Having a mentorship program in your business helps in developing a better working relationship amongst your employees. Communication is vital in the success of the mentorship because, during the mentorship program, the challenges, obstacles, and progress of the mentoree are always considered. This is to make learning easier and faster. The mentor and mentoree communicate on how to accomplish mastery of the skill, learning a new skill or task, execution of the instructions are all discussed and evaluated. Sharing of best practices is encouraged and adapting to change or to a different role is expected. Trust is deepened and bonds are created. Competitiveness is present but in a constructive and progressive way. This benefits not just the employee but also the business.

3. Job Satisfaction

When an employee gets mentored, greater job satisfaction is attained. Being a part of a mentorship program in business improves employee satisfaction and helps develop personal goals for both the mentor and the mentoree. It also elevates the employees’ value and confidence at work. Being a part of a mentorship program at work makes an employee learn new skills, equips them to take on new tasks or roles, and gives the employee pride in what they do at work. Happy employees are more productive and successful. They tend to look forward to achieving greatness at work. When an employee takes pride in what they do, the business is in good hands.

Having a mentorship program in your business is helpful because it saves the business money, time and effort. Mentorship programs are more personal, more one-on-one, therefore, the results are closely monitored and evaluated. When a challenge is encountered, it can immediately be acted on and corrected. The skill is learned faster and mastered at a considerably shorter period of time. Small businesses with mentorship programs expand more effectively because the original skills mastered are being transferred and re-mastered by the other employees. Employees look forward to being responsible for more tasks, different tasks and are willing to pass on the learning to the other employees.

Need a business coach? Check our coach directory and find the perfect mentor to help you.